Google Analytics URL builder is a good tool for tracking your various campaigns. How to use URL builder is one of the question that pops up to new users but once they start using it, they find it simple to use. The tool is not created for its simplicity but it’s use. So, what is the point of telling you how to use it? Well, I’m here to tell you about how to set it up, its various advantages and best practices that are used by Digital Marketing Experts for creating custom campaigns.

UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module which is a code, also known as UTM code that you can attach to a custom URL. It tracks source, medium and campaign name. This allows Google Analytics to tell you where searchers came from and what campaign directed them to you. When a user clicks a link, these parameters are sent to Google Analytics, so you can see reports on each campaign to find out their effectiveness. For example, you can find out through campaign parameters whether a user arrived at your download page through in-app ad or a search ad. You can also find out the users that come to your website from a link in an e-mail newsletter.

So after understanding what URL builder Google is and does, let’s move on to set it up.

1. How to setup Custom Campaigns?

Websites

Create custom URL using URL builder tool available on support page of Google

Android

Create URL and define parameters using Google Play URL builder for which you have to set-up Google Play Campaign Attribution in your SDK.

iOS

Create URL using Campaign Tracking URL builder. You have to use Google Analytics and iOS SDK v3 or higher, but you don’t have to make any changes in the SDK for this feature to work.

Manual Set-Up

It is not compulsory for you to use URL builder tool to create URLs. You can do it yourself if you know all the parameters. Just make sure that you separate the parameters from a URL with a ? mark. Parameters and values are to listed as pairs separated by equal sign. Separate each value in the parameter with an ampersand.

Parameters can be added in any order. Analytics is also case sensitive, therefore, utm_source=facebook is different from utm_source=Facebook.

2. URL Builder and How to use it?

A URL builder for is used to create a custom URL for ad campaigns. AdWords auto-tagging feature is not used by a custom campaign. Adding parameters to your URLs, you can easily identify the campaigns that send traffic to your site.

Let’s now talk about how to use this form:

2. Use utm_source to know about the source. For example, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

3. Use utm_medium to know about the medium through which a user come from. For example, CPM, CPC, E-mail

4. Use utm_term is used for paid search through which you can identify the keywords of an ad

5. Use utm_Content for A/B testing and content targeted ads that helps in differentiating ads as they point to the same URL.

6. Use utm_campaign for keyword analysis. To identify a specific product promotion or strategic campaign.(Product, promo code or slogan etc.)

URL Campaign Source, Campaign Medium and Campaign Name (i.e., utm_campaign) are mandatory while Campaign Term and Campaign Content are optional. After filling up the information, press Generate URL to get your custom URL as shown in the Image. Paste this URL into your advertising links and get the tracking details in Google Analytics. Google URL shortner can be used as these URLs are big.

Google URL Builder page

3. Advantages of Custom URL

1. One of the common use of UTM code is to create a vanity URL for every offline campaigns, and then redirecting that URL to any forwarding address you assign to it. A vanity URL is a unique web address that is branded for marketing.

2. This will help you track a weekly newspaper ad, coupon, radio ad, or TV commercial is working without creating landing pages for each campaign. By creating separate codes for TV commercial and print ads, you can get data on which generates more traffic, conversions, etc. You can track the source, medium and individual campaign names.

3. You can monitor two different ads that have content with same message and different text to find out which performs better.

4. One great thing about UTM codes is that you can change the code whenever you want in order to adjust the medium, month or any other factor you want to tweak.

5. It’s easy to determine the effectiveness of each campaign. An exact data will tell you whether an ad is worth running or not. It tells which campaigns are doing well and which require more attention.

4. Why should you create custom URLs? Problems, if you don’t.

1. Campaign running on other non-search or social sites (Banner ads or Affiliate Sites) and not tagging those links, they’ll get lumped in your referral traffic.

2. Paid search campaign outside of AdWords (or AdWords with auto tagging off), those will show up as organic.

3. It distinguishes the everyday posts on social media with ads on social media.

4. Campaign tagging for E-mail campaigns are crucial. E-mail traffic is grossly under reported if you don’t tag the links because of issue of apps, web mail providers and mobile having issue passing data as referrer. Using URL builder for E-mail campaign is a must for successful campaigns.

5. Best Practices for Creating Custom Campaigns

Tag only what you need

No need to tag Google AdWords URL if auto-tagging is enabled because your Analytics and AdWords accounts are linked. If you run ads on other search engines than Google, you’ll need to tag those URLs. Referral sites are automatically detected and displayed in reports but if you want you can associate a name or ad type in their links.

Create you link using URL builder

Google Analytics URL builder tool is easy to use and you don’t have worry about any mistakes in the syntax you’ve made. You can then easily copy and paste the links in your campaigns.

Use only campaign variables you need

There are six fields in URL builder form but only three are mandatory as mentioned earlier. It’s not like if you’re given six options, you have to fill all up. Use the 3 optional parameters only when needed. Why make things complex when you can do them easily?

Don’t send personally identifiable information

Google Analytics’ terms of services prohibits sending personally identifiable information to Google Analytics like names, email address, social security number or any such data.